Preferred embodiments of the present invention relate generally to electronic amusement devices and systems. More particularly, preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to an amusement system having player accounts for storing a player's best scores for games playable on the amusement system.
Amusement devices having electronic games for computers and touchscreens or other types of amusement devices are generally known in the art. Amusement devices, such as game machines, which allow a player to select games from a video display are known in the art, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,787 (“Itkis”), U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,717 (“Houriet, Jr., et al.”), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,799 (“Houriet, Jr., et al.”), each of which is incorporated by reference and shows a touchscreen for making a game selection from a menu of games. Such game machines or amusement devices typically operate upon input of currency (i.e., coin, token, paper money, credit/debit cards or the like) and are installed in locations such as bars, restaurants, airports, shopping malls, video arcades, casinos, or the like. The game choices may include card games, sports games, games of skill, games of chance, action games, trivia games, or the like. Typically, the goal of such games is for the player to amass the highest possible score.
Previously, amusement devices maintained only a select number of the overall highest scores for the game on a machine-specific leaderboard. Often, the leaderboard only maintained the top ten overall scores achieved on the machine since the leaderboard was last reset, regardless of the player. Even when a player's best score appeared on a leaderboard of a first amusement device, when the player accessed a second amusement device, he could not easily compare his previous best score with any newly achieved scores. Compounding the problem is that leaderboards stored only on amusement devices are often reset. Operators often reset best scores on amusement devices to encourage higher turnover of players appearing on the leaderboards. In addition, external events such as power interruptions can result in the leaderboard being reset.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an amusement system capable of tracking a player's top scores for a plurality of electronic games across a plurality of amusement devices, so that a player's top score information can be easily retrieved regardless of the amusement device the player is playing.